Do I Really Need A Side Hustle?

The idea of a side hustle can sometimes get overblown, to the detriment of many people who read about it. Some outlets sell it as a  the second job, which can scare away many people who feel bogged down with their day job and other concerns like family. However, this mindset doesn’t paint a complete picture, as side hustles can take various forms. With this in mind, everyone should try to take a shot and one. The opportunity cost is low, and you are guaranteed to improve your career prospects. Here’s how.

What A Difference a Side Job Makes

Everyone has a dream job. Sometimes they don’t make a lot of sense or aren’t feasible, but they are often rooted in some sort of genuine passion, and putting together a side job or hustle is the perfect way to indulge them. For example, maybe you wanted a career in the culinary arts, but things didn’t pan out. Nothing stops you from creating a cooking blog and indulging your passion that way, with minimal cost for something that can mean everything to you. Also, many side jobs are designed to be done from home, allowing for the perfect level of flexibility that won’t interfere with your day job or other responsibilities. As of 2015, more than a third of Americans telecommute in some capacity. There’s no better time to hop on this trend.

In addition to the money you can make or the ability to work with things you’ve always been interested in, there’s also several other tangible benefits of a side job that may even spill over into your main career. For one, as your side gig grows, so does your network, and any career professional will tell you that you never know what connection may end up paying off for you. Besides, starting your own business will instantly show on your resume that you are ambitious and have the time management to juggle two jobs. And if things go well, your dream side job may end up growing up enough to become a full-time source of income—all because you were willing to take the leap.

Make Your Ideal Job

It can be difficult to keep your different worlds from spilling into each other at first, but you want to put together boundaries and structure when you first put together your side job to ensure that you make some progress. Other than that? It’s up to you! The best thing you can do is take a self-assessment of some kind. What type do you have to spend on this? What skills do you have that could help you in this regard? What areas of interest are out there that you’ve been aching to try? There is no perfect side job, but there is the one that best fits your lifestyle—finds it and get to work.

With that said, depending on your situation, there may be some caveats to how you much you can commit. Perhaps you don’t have seed money to start a proper business, but you want to bring in extra income. In that case, you may be better served to find work with a company that allows for this type of employment, like Vector Marketing. Sometimes, this type of work may be ideal, as it allows you to see if having your formal job and a side job is plausible for you, without incurring financial hardship should things not work out or you change your mind.

Some people may turn to side hustle for a shot at a dream, others may just be trying to get by when times are hard. You need to understand that a second job is a very versatile concept, and many successful businesses have sprung from humble beginnings. Don’t be afraid to take this step, as a small part of your time and energy early on could reap huge direct and indirect rewards later.